Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education "statistics" have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of WAITING FOR SUPERMAN. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, Guggenheim undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying "drop-out factories" and "academic sinkholes," methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable problems..

one of the most moving documentaries i have ever seen and a thorough explanation of why the education system in the US will fail all but the rich and lucky. for me, as a european, it spoke volumes on why the US is as politically backward as it is...why there is so much crime and poverty and horror. wow. you give teachers tenure automatically??? omg,.. you still use 'tracking' ???? omg you can't teach your kids math and english...and can't fire a teacher for not being able/willing to do so??? had me weeping at the end